More details on ‘The Flash’: red suits and ‘Arrow’ debut

Yesterday, geeks had cause for rejoicing when the CW announced that The Flash would be coming to television on the back of Green Arrow adaptation Arrow. Now THR follows up that news with some more details from series creators Greg Berlanti and Andre Kreisberg.

Berlanti, Kreisberg and Geoff Johns will write the introduction of the character in episodes 8, 9 and 20 of Arrow, serving as a backdoor pilot to The Flash. Berlanti and Kreisberg will pen the pilot, which will be directed by David Nutter, who also helmed the successful Arrow pilot.

Kreisberg goes on to talk about the introduction of Barry Allen a.k.a. The Flash into the Arrow series:

“When we first meet Barry Allen, he’s just a forensic scientist … an ordinary man. Part of the fun for the audience … is to see how we view our Arrow take on the Flash legacy. Some of it will feel very familiar to DC Comics, some of it hopefully will feel different, fresh and exciting. The same way we approached Arrow is the same way we’re approaching Barry.”

There had previously been a “no superpowers” guideline in Arrow, keep the series incredibly grounded and realistic. Kreisberg talk about how The Flash’s origin story separates him as something that is possible to exist with the reality they have created so far:

“There will be extraordinary events in the world and the characters will react in the same way. The fact he has superpowers, there’s something more relatable about Barry among the Big Seven of the Justice League. He got his powers by accident; he’s not a god, he’s not an alien … his reactions to that feel very … human and grounded.”

This isn’t to say that we will be seeing Barry Allen in a leather jacket or post-modern take on his classic red suit. Geoff Johns insists that this will be a recognisable version of the character.

No sweat suits or strange code names; he will be The Flash…We want to do something fresh, new and exciting and give people a real cinematic experience the same way we did with Arrow.

This pleasing development opens up the DC Television Universe to a whole swag of fantastic characters, including the long-rumoured Booster Gold series or the potential for a crossover with some of the big screen adventures.